Don’t let the UK become a 'nation of informers like the old East Germany', warns Tory ex-chancellor Lord Lamont as he blasts ministers for urging neighbours to snitch on each other for breaking Covid-19 rules

• Lord Lamont said Government's 'cat's cradle' of rules is 'in danger of collapsing'
• He hit out at ministers for urging neighbours to report each other to the police 
• He said he 'deplored' the suggestion UK should 'become a nation of informers'

A Tory former chancellor today lashed out at the prospect of the UK becoming a 'nation of informers like the old East Germany' as he criticised ministers for urging people to report their neighbours to the police for breaking coronavirus rules. 

Lord Lamont expressed major concerns about the Government's Covid-19 restrictions as he questioned whether there was any scientific evidence to back up the rule of six. 

He said the Government had failed to provide 'satisfactory explanations' for why certain measures are needed. 

He insisted he was not advocating 'letting the virus rip' but warned the current 'cat's cradle' of rules 'is in danger of collapsing under its own weight' and must be simplified.  

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Lord Lamont today said he 'deplored' the suggestion from ministers that the UK should become 'a nation of informers like the old East Germany' 

Boris Johnson is facing mounting Tory fury both in the House of Commons and the Lords over his coronavirus crackdowns, with approximately one quarter of the UK population now living under tighter restrictions. 

Lord Lamont accused the Government of failing to consult the public in drawing up the rules as he highlighted the 'impracticality' of enforcing them. 

He said: 'Two ministers have suggested that people should inform on their neighbours.

'It's one thing to report you neighbour if you see that he is building a bomb factory.

'If he is holding a barbecue for seven people are you really going to report him?

'I deplore any suggestion that we should become a nation of informers like the old East Germany.'

Lord Lamont added: 'I am not arguing let the virus rip. We need rules. But I think we have not had satisfactory explanations.

'This cat's cradle of rules is in danger of collapsing under its own weight. Popular consent is undermined by arbitrary rules which are hard to follow.

'For rules to have legitimacy, people need to understand the rationale and above all government needs to observe the appropriate limits of laws.'

Defending the measures, Health Minister Lord Bethell acknowledged there were 'seemingly many inconsistencies, injustices and perceived unfairnesses'.

But Lord Lamont argued that this made it difficult for people to accept them.

He said: 'Many people want to know the basis on which these rules are made.

'The very fact there are different regimes in different countries in the UK, all based on exactly the same science, suggest there can't be a precise basis for the figure of six. Is it just fingers in the air for each of the countries of the UK?'

He also questioned why children under the age of 12 cannot be exempted from the overall number in England as they are in Scotland and Wales.

Lord Lamont said: 'What is the point of the rule anyway when one can go into a carriage on the Tube or into an office or a supermarket and find oneself positively close to a lot more than six people.'   

Lord Bethell told peers that the only purpose of the rule of six 'was to halt the spread of the virus by breaking the chain of transmission'. He argued it provided 'clear, easily understood guidance'.